AUSTIN — Former Albert Lea City Manager Jim Norman was selectively prosecuted.

That is the argument his lawyer, Peggy Rockow, made Tuesday in Mower County District Court during a hearing to weigh a motion to dismiss the case.

Rockow brought forth receipts from a public records request made by the Albert Lea Tribune in September. The receipts contained documentation of instances where other city employees reportedly used their city credit card for expenses deemed to be personal in nature.

Details of the receipts were published in the Sept. 26 edition of the Tribune.

Each of the receipts was accompanied by a stamped box that had approvals of both the department head and city manager over the employee.

Rockow argued that these examples showed an existence of other employees who used the city credit card for personal purchases and who were not prosecuted on the matter.

“I think it was one person who was reported to the State Auditor’s Office, and there’s other evidence of similar behavior,” she said.

Norman, 57, faces felony charges related to his alleged misuse of the city-issued credit card for about $2,300 in personal purchases. New to the position, he has argued in public that he was misled and has repaid the debt to the city.

He resigned in September and now lives in Wisconsin, where he travels from to attend the hearings. In court Tuesday, he had several family members from out of the area who attended to show their support.

Rockow questioned City Human Resources Director Mike Zelenak about the copies of the receipts, which were gathered for the Tribune. He said he did not know whose handwriting was on each of the copies of the receipts, but he was able to identify the initials of the department heads and city manager who signed off on the transactions.

He identified the names of several department heads who had appeared to sign off on the purchases, along with former City Manager Victoria Simonsen.

Rockow also questioned former Albert Lea Finance Director Rhonda Moen, who now is working as finance director in Owatonna. She reportedly was the first person to report Norman’s alleged misuse to authorities because of her role as a mandatory reporter.

Prosecuting Attorney Brenda Miller of the Waseca County Attorney’s Office objected to much of Rockow’s questioning of Moen, arguing that “selective prosecution” by statute only deals with law enforcement — police and prosecutors — not city officials.

Waseca Police detective Angie Grotberg, who investigated the case against Norman, was also briefly questioned, and copies of the full police investigation were submitted into evidence.

It became clear at the hearing that Moen will be the No. 1 witness for the prosecution’s case, should the case go to trial.

Mower County District Court Judge Fred Wellmann ordered that the defense submit its written briefs on the matter by Feb. 14. Miller will have until Feb. 28 to submit her response, after which the judge will issue an order.

Rockow also entered a conditional not guilty plea for her client and invoked his Sixth Amendment demand for a speedy trial.

Norman faces eight charges — seven felonies and one gross misdemeanor.

Look for more on this case as it develops.